Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To wear (something) away by erosion.
  • intransitive verb To eat into; corrode.
  • intransitive verb To make or form by wearing away.
  • intransitive verb To cause to diminish or deteriorate.
  • intransitive verb To become worn or eaten away.
  • intransitive verb To diminish or deteriorate.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To gnaw or eat into or away; corrode.
  • Hence To wear away, as if by gnawing: specifically used in geology of the action of water, etc., in wearing down the earth's surface.
  • To become worn away.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To eat into or away; to corrode.
  • transitive verb To wear away.
  • transitive verb To produce by erosion, or wearing away.
  • transitive verb fig. to reduce or lessen as if by eroding.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To wear away by abrasion, corrosion or chemical reaction

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb remove soil or rock
  • verb become ground down or deteriorate

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin ērōdere, to gnaw off, eat away : ē-, ex-, ex- + rōdere, to gnaw; see rēd- in Indo-European roots.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word erode.

Examples

  • Meanwhile Americans will be discouraged from doing the right things to mitigate the impact of higher gas prices and the nationwide system of roads will further erode from a failure to properly fund upkeep from the fuel tax.

    McCain unyielding in call for gas tax relief 2008

  • It got to the point where the aluminum coating started to erode from the bracelet and I had to apply medical tape to the inside to prevent my wrist from becoming green.

    Letters and Notes 1966

  • For that dynamic to erode is to mean Iraq has a chance at being a functional, healthy, successful state.

    All Mixed Up Like Pasta Primavera | ATTACKERMAN 2009

  • Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has lost almost $34 billion in market value in the past two weeks and yesterday had its "AA" debt rating put under review by Standard & Poor's as the recalls erode its brand image.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has lost almost $34 billion in market value in the past two weeks and today had its "AA" debt rating put under review by Standard & Poor's as the recalls erode its brand image.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has lost almost $34 billion in market value in the past two weeks and yesterday had its "AA" debt rating put under review by Standard & Poor's as the recalls erode its brand image.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has lost almost $34 billion in market value in the past two weeks and yesterday had its "AA" debt rating put under review by Standard & Poor's as the recalls erode its brand image.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has lost almost $34 billion in market value in the past two weeks and yesterday had its "AA" debt rating put under review by Standard & Poor's as the recalls erode its brand image.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has lost almost $34 billion in market value in the past two weeks and today had its "AA" debt rating put under review by Standard & Poor's as the recalls erode its brand image.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has lost almost $34 billion in market value in the past two weeks and today had its "AA" debt rating put under review by Standard & Poor's as the recalls erode its brand image.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • The route your Instant Messaging takes in cyberspace?

    From "Wiley's Dictionary" (B.C. comic strip)

    July 26, 2008